In flagranti
by Nuredhel
Summary: A scholar sent from Imladris tries to manipulate Thranduil. Not a good idea at all, he'll get what he deserves for sure. Sequel to A Cure for boredom and the Challenge.
1. The replacement

Chapter one: The replacement

The room was rather dark, the few candles did little to illuminate the huge space and the few embers left glowing in the hearth looked like dying fire flies. It was warm though and very cozy and the luxury would have told anyone who entered that this indeed was the kings own bedroom. In the middle was a huge bed with a canopy and it was beautiful, grand and old and made to withstand the ravages of time. But whether or not it could withstand the punishment it now received was an entirely different matter. The bedframe was making squeaking sounds, the headboard banged against the wall behind it and the solid ropes that held the thick matrass sounded like a bunch of rats that were being tortured.

The room was not silent at all, and neither were the two on top of the bed. Candriel was very loud indeed and she sounded a bit shocked, he wasn't that eager nor that rough usually. The king was more energetic than ever before and he grunted and groaned as he kept fucking her as if he was a hammer and she an anvil. She was rather convinced that the matrass would break soon, or her back! She was almost bent double with her knees over his shoulders and he had a death grip on her hips as he increased the speed and power even more. She knew him by now, she had been his mistress for more than a year and she knew that something was bothering him.

Whenever he faced some sort of problem he couldn't solve easily he would become frustrated and then he would need some serious bed gymnastics to calm down and clear his head, so this time it had to be something very serious indeed. She felt dizzy and shocked and by Eru's mercy, he had to finish fast or she would get sore. It wasn't that she didn't like it, she appreciated a wild ride just as much as the next elleth but there is a limit to everybody's endurance and hers was drawing near. She gasped and writhed and touched her own breasts and that did it, the sight of it pushed him over the edge and he came hard, howling and shuddering. Candriel let out a small sigh of relief, of all the ellyn she had been with the king was the largest by far and also the most enduring one. He could keep going for hours if he wanted to.

He collapsed onto her heaving for air and she got her legs back down with a silent thanks to the valar, he forgot his own strength when he was that caught by his own passion. She would feel stiff come the morrow but she knew how to take care of that. He laid heavily on top of her and she felt how he calmed down, the sweat started to dry and he was breathing more normally again. She let her fingers glide through the thick curtain of silvery blond silky hair and caressed his back with her free hand. " So, what is the problem this time?"

He had ordered her to come to his private room earlier that evening and the moment she entered he had been all over her, as if he wanted to devour her completely. She had seen the almost desperate glimpse in his pale blue eyes, and she hadn't had time to ask him then. He sighed and pushed himself up onto his elbows, stared down at her with an expression of controlled irritation. " It is that …spawn of Morgoth!"

Candriel frowned, she didn't understand. She had been visiting her mother for the last month or so and had returned home the day before. She hadn't had time to catch up with the things that were happening within the palace. " I beg your pardon? Spawn of Morgoth?!"

He rolled off her, sat up next to her and sighed deeply. He stared at the faint light from the hearth with a rather piercing gaze. " A week after you left I received a message from Lord Elrond of Imladris. It was very polite but also desperate, I could read that between the lines. I was a fool and I agreed."

Candriel sat up too, her hips ached and she tried to get away from the wet spot on the sheet, it was rather sticky. "Agreed to what my lord?"

Thranduil pulled a silk sheet up around him, reached out towards the small table next to the bed and retrieved a decanter of rich dorwinion wine, he opened it with his teeth and took a huge swig out of it, Candriel didn't believe her own eyes. He usually never drank wine like that, he would pour it into a fine glass, admire its color, sniff at it and then drink just small sips to savor the taste. Tossing it back like that was out of the question so she realized that yes, he really had needed to blow off some steam, and still were.

"Elrond's chief counsellor Erestor got wounded in a small skirmish against some pesky orcs, got a poisoned javelin to his guts. Elrond has sent him to the havens to recover, in case he gets worse Elrond wants him to sail west, to avoid dying."

Candriel didn't say anything, she knew better than to interrupt the king whence he was speaking. " I have no great love for Erestor, I think he is a pompous ass and he will never change but I would much rather have him here than his replacement."

Candriel cocked her head. " Replacement?"

Thranduil nodded. " Yes, some years ago I made a deal with Elrond that his chief counsellor should come to my realm and meet my counsellors, together they would form a strategy we can use if the dark lord should return. And a week ago a replacement counsellor arrived, to my great despair. Erestor had apparently recommended him, and I bet that poison has been eating at his brains for he has made the greatest mistake in his career the way I see it."

He took another hearty swig from the decanter, swallowed the heady wine as if it was grape juice. " Erestor's replacement makes Erestor seem like a wonderful person indeed, gee, I think I would have hugged that darn noldo if he was to appear here now."

Candriel frowned. " Is he that bad? Couldn't Elrond have sent someone else?"

Thranduil shook his head. " Nope, the letter I received told me, very explicitly mind you, that there were no other available scholars for the job, Erestor insisted on him being chosen, and Elrond would very much like for him to visit my realm the sooner the better. I think he would have written "Good riddance" at the end if he could."

Candriel had to giggle. " So, what is so bad about that ellon?"

Thranduil put down the decanter, he stared at it with sorrow, it was almost empty. "Everything, every bloody fucking thing Candriel. I had to see you today, or else I would go mad and become the doer of the most wicked of deeds, kinslaying!"

She bit her lower lip. That sounded almost too unbelievable to be true. Thranduil had a rather flaring temper but he never turned violent, he just used his very sharp tongue and wicked sense of sarcasm and it usually made even the most stubborn opponents back down. "Really?"

He nodded and swung his legs out over the edge of the bed, not without problems for the wine had started to kick inn by now. " Yes. His name is Araval and he is a half teler half noldo out of Lindon. He is the most despicable ellon I have ever met, and I have met a few very nasty individuals in my time"

She shivered. " I do not doubt that my lord"

He continued. "I have always thought that most noldor are haughty and proud and look at others as if they are naught but manure stuck on their boots but this one? Oh Eru, he puts every other noldo I have ever met to shame. He makes even Galadriel seem humble and demure."

Candriel scoffed. " Really? How is that possible?"

Thranduil sighed and let his upper torso fall back onto the bed, he stared up into the canopy. "He is impolite, he refuses to listen to anyone but himself, he thinks that my counsellors are stupid, uneducated or worse, uncivilized barbarians and that I am some upstart who came to be a king just because we sindar happen to be a tiny weeny bit more cultured than the silvan who he by the way regards as something barely worthy of becoming servants. I could have…."

Candriel had to snigger. " You don't like him, I get it!"

He turned his head around, stared at her. " It isn't that, what I feel matters not if it can make our realm safer, but he doesn't care about the treaty at all. He wants to show everybody just what a marvelous strategist he is but in truth he doesn't have a clue about strategy or anything else for that matter. He is a dimwit, a bloody fool. He disregards every piece of information he is given and tries to overrule all the suggestions we make. I know why Elrond sent him on such a short notice, he hoped that Araval would get lost in the woods and never return."

Candriel started to rub the king's shoulders and he sighed with relief, he was tense, she could feel it. "And there I am, bound to behave like a king, polite and everything when I really want to pull out a sword and bloody decapitate the idiot. He managed to piss Anaron off, imagine that?"

Candriel gawked. "What? But…."

Thranduil closed his eyes. " Yes, I know. I have seen him fight orcs and trolls without even uttering a curse, you could accuse him of everything from being a coward to a servant of Morgoth and he wouldn't even frown, but Araval? Oh Eru, he managed to make Anaron so angry I was afraid it would end with murder"

Candriel blinked, she sat down next to him and rested herself against his shoulder. " What did he say then, that managed to tick off the most peaceful and balanced ellon known to elves"

Thranduil made a snorting sound. " Araval told Anaron that he was an ill-bred excuse for an ellon who didn't know the difference between a sword and a toothpick and that he wouldn't be able to find his own arse even with the help of my entire guard and a torch!"

Candriel had to laugh, she couldn't help it. " Oh sweetness, that is one…hefty insult"

Thranduil nodded. " Anaron would have ignored it if Araval hadn't added something else to it. He claimed that Anaron's mother had to have begotten Anaron with some lowly wood elf for a true sinda couldn't be all that daft and that was when Anaron snapped."

Candriel hissed. " I do not blame him, everybody knows he loved his mother and she is a very respectable elleth who loves her husband dearly."

Thranduil nodded. " So he has made a lot of enemies here, not only among the nobles but among the entire population. I cannot imagine that an elf can be this…this block headed but he is. An orc is a brilliant genius in comparison."

Candriel scoffed. " Surely you must be jesting?"

He shook his head violently. " No, I am dead serious. He is someone I would pay to get rid of, I don't think the spiders would want him out of fear of being poisoned. And orcs? Manwë's balls, they would run head over heels to avoid him."

She curled up against him and he relaxed, nuzzled against her neck. " So he is despicable, and impolite with no social skills whatsoever, anything else?"

Thranduil nodded and he kissed her neck gently. " Oh, there is plenty more. He drinks like a sponge, eats like a darn hobbit, is very unpleasant when drunk too, and he….he acts in a less than proper way towards other elves."

She started to think that this ellon had to be a spawn of Morgoth indeed. " How so?"

Thranduil groaned. "He acts the way some human males do alright? He thinks he is irresistible and acts as though it is his right to grope at everyone and make indecent propositions. I cannot count the number of complaints I have received lately. Eru have mercy, I am soon going to tie that piece of shit up, throw him in a bag and toss him into the enchanted river!"

Candriel heard the growl in the king's voice and knew that this ellon really had managed to make the king very angry, but that wasn't all. The ellon was a guest, an emissary from another realm and thus Thranduil couldn't banish him. It was a dilemma and one Thranduil would need help to solve. Candriel felt a surge of sympathy rush through her, she tilted her head again and let a finger slide across his lower lip, lovingly. " Isn't there anything you can do to have him banished or just sent back home?"

Thranduil shook his head, he looked as if he was a bit lost for words. " I fear not my dear, I have to follow the rules even if he isn't!"

Candriel saw that his mind was heading somewhere dark and unpleasant again so she hurried to distract him by kissing a path down his toned torso, before long his member did react with eagerness and she proceeded to lick and suck him slowly and teasingly. After just a little time he was squirming and the darn counsellor was forgotten entirely. Candriel knew exactly how to keep him occupied and on the edge until he became a trembling mess unable to form a single coherent thought. She was doing him a favor and she really wanted him to have a good time, he had to have been suffering for weeks since she was away for so long.

The next morning the king woke up alone, Candriel had left before dawn as she usually did not to be discovered by his servants. He groaned and got up, feeling well rested physically but his mind was a different case all together. He didn't want to get up! He would have preferred to stay in bed, barricading the doors and just avoid Aravan as if he was carrying the plague or something. But Thranduil couldn't stay in bed, he had to get up. There was no way around it. He took a bath, dressed with great care and made sure he wore dark robes that made him look taller and more intimidating than ever and he put on his most spiky crown too.

He was about to call for a servant to bring him some food when the door opened and his butler Galion entered, the usually jolly ellon was a bit pale and his appearance less than polished. Galion would normally be dressed with impeccable taste, in simple but good robes that showed his high status within the household and there would be no wrinkles or stains to be seen. Now on the other hand he looked like a vagabond. His hair was unkempt, and it looked as if a bird had tried to make it into a nest or something. He had put on a pair of trousers that had huge stains of something on them and his tunic was old, wrinkled and it did smell of sweat. What the hell?!

Thranduil frowned, he was a bit worried that Galion finally had snapped, he had the most stressful job of all of the elves within the palace and it was no wonder that rumors told of a thirst just as large as that of the king. Thranduil chose to ignore the fact that Galion sometimes "forgot" to mention that he had ordered a few barrels of wine more than the king had originally ordered and that those barrels normally "disappeared"- He sort of felt that he owed his old friend some fun from time to time and he had never neglected his duties even when he showed up for work more than a little hung over. "Galion? What is wrong?"

Galion seemed to tremble for a short second, there was a grimace of absolute disgust on his fair face and Thranduil had never seen anyone looking that repulsed before. " My lord, unless that…son of a rabid orc and a bat shit crazy warg leave soon you will need to find yourself a new butler for I will leave for the havens, this I do swear upon my mother's head!"

Thranduil almost backed off a step, Galions voice was harsh, filled with rage and he hadn't sounded that pissed off ever before, not even whilst attending to Thranduils needs during the last alliance. "What? What have he done to you?"

Galion hissed like a very angry cat, he almost spat. " What he has done to me? Gee, let me see, oh now I remember, he has tried to make me deceive you my liege! He has questioned my loyalty to the royal family, he has tried to trick, threat and seduce me into giving away secrets which only I among all elves here know!"

Thranduil tensed up. " What?"

Galion nodded sternly, his eyes were blazing. " That bastard is trying to find something he can use against you my lord, something that may be used as material for blackmail or worse. He wishes to remain here, as your head counsellor. He thinks he can gain power and influence by having a grip on you."

Thranduil felt how a glowing heat spread through his body. "That is treason, is there more?"

Galion rolled his eyes. " More? Of bloody sure there is more, what he has tried to do to me is nothing. I do not budge for such an idiot, I know how to deal with nonsense and hollow threats. No, it is the servants that are bothering me, he is all over them all the time, complaining about everything, asking for the impossible and scolding them mercilessly when they cannot get what he wishes for. He has even beaten one of the maidens, she couldn't bring him fresh lilies."

Thranduil just gaped, fresh lilies? It wasn't season for that now, was the ellon insane? " Oh, and there is more, plenty more. Last night he demanded that I served him personally, and made a private feast just for him. He ate like a bloody dwarf, I spent the rest of the night cleaning up after him. And he drank so much I think he must have a mithril stomach for he wasn't even visibly drunk afterwards. And that is quite a feat for he drank only dorwinion, the best we have."

Thranduil growled. "So, he is starting to get a bit too cocky now!"

Galion sighed. " And if that wasn't enough he has attempted to bed several of the servants, both ellith and ellyn alike. He almost raped one of the chamber maidens, she escaped only because one of the guards came by and she managed to wring herself free from him and ran."

Thranduil started to feel a headache setting in, he was confused. That sort of bad behavior was not something any elf normally would do, no matter what. Was this elf really mad? Thranduil made a grimace. " I want to get rid of him just as much as you do my friend, but I am bound by the laws of hospitality. I wonder if Elrond knew how badly Aravan would behave when he sent him? I sort of feel as though the lord of Imladris wants that elf gone, for good!"

Galion sent the king a stiff grin. " In that case, I am able to look the other way if the need to repeat certain actions of the first age should emerge. I bet Elrond would find a way to justify a little kinslaying, for the greater good."

Thranduil just growled. " I know, I fear that Aravan may have some sort of grip upon Elrond too, something he is using to gain power."

Galion got a very sly expression upon his face. " There is this one small bag he brought with him, and he is guarding it like a hawk. I think I may find the opportunity to take a small peak inside of it?"

Thranduil smirked, his eyes were shining. " Do, please do. I will make sure he stays at the meeting for hours, I am willing to endure it if I know that the ellon can be caught doing something illicit."

Galion bowed deeply. " Very well my liege, consider it done"

Thranduil watched his faithful servant leave and managed to get his face back into the normal cool expression. If Aravan did blackmail Elrond into sending him to Thranduil's palace then he ought to help his fellow ruler shouldn't he? It would help him gain some much needed goodwill from the noldor. He ate a swift breakfast and then he went to the office where the counsellors would meet, he braced himself for yet another day of fruitless arguments and idiotic suggestions.

The counsellors were there already, but Aravan wasn't, He had obviously not understood that the king is the last one to enter the room. Good behavior was obviously a foreign word for that bastard. The counsellors sent their king some glances filled with despair, they were not getting anywhere with the treaty and Aravan sort of attacked their every suggestion with counter suggestions that were both idiotic and sometimes simply unbelievable. Aravan did arrive, half an hour too late and he was beaming, grinning from one ear to the next, acting like he owned the place and Thranduil fought the urge to smother the smug ellon with all of his might. He was glad his son was out on patrol and wouldn't return for yet another month, Legolas would have snapped already, he was too young to have developed the patience of an elder elf.

Thranduil wanted more people present this day, to keep the meeting going so he announced that he wanted to take a look at the maps yet again and he called in some of his captains just to hear what they had to say about the plans and suggestions. Aravan didn't look as if he liked it a bit and he mumbled something that sounded less than polite but Thranduil pretended not to have heard it at all. Before long five of Thranduil's best captains were assembled by the table with the maps and a discussion was going. Thranduil stood at the other side of the table from Aravan, next to the scholar Feren had found a place and he was busy pointing at spots where spider's nests were located when Thranduil did notice that the handsome young captain froze and seemed to stop talking. He stared straight ahead at some imaginary point in the distance and Thranduil could see that the eyes inside of the helmet were huge with shock and disbelief. Aravan stood next to Feren and he was apparently studying a map very intensely but Thranduil was taller than anyone else in the room and he had excellent eyesight as all elves. On the opposite side of the room there was a small mirror upon the upper shelf of a commode and he could see that Aravan had snuck his hand up underneath the skirt of Feren's armor and by the looks of it that hand was now rubbing between Feren's thighs and ass cheeks.

Since it was rather hot the guards wore thin linen pants underneath the armor and to Feren it had to feel as if that ellon's hand was really groping his ass, balls and cock with nothing in between.

Thranduil got a desperate stare from Feren, the guard obviously had no idea of what to do to get out of the terribly embarrassing situation. Thranduil couldn't call off the meeting, he had to keep Aravan there until Galion could check his luggage. The king was thinking fast and he waved his hand. " Feren, please come over here, I want you to show the rest of the counsellors where you saw those huge orcs"

Feren nodded and he almost jumped across the table, happy to get away from that too bold hand and its rather intimate actions. He pointed at different spots with a bit too much enthusiasm for it to sound real but Thranduil didn't care. He had rescued his favorite captain from being molested by Aravan, in public! That ellon had no sense of shame, whatsoever. He just hoped that Galion would hurry up. He had gotten a message from one of the servants saying that Galion would enter the office whence the deed was done, to let Thranduil know that the meeting could be called off. He was longing for that moment, a lot!

Galion was hurrying with his task, luckily the scholar hadn't brought all that much baggage and he found the bag rather fast. It was stuffed with things but Galion was rather good at finding the important things other were trying to hide. The side pocket of the bag proved to be the jack pot. Inside of it was several pieces of paper, all neatly rolled up and all were drawings. Galion frowned, drawings? What was so bad about….he stared at the first one and felt how his cheeks suddenly turned bright red. It was the most indecent image he had seen ever, and the one who had drawn this had to have seen that scene first hand for the details were amazing and the angle told him that the artist with the amazing skills had to have been hiding rather close to the two on the image. The faces were easily recognized, it was Erestor and the famous captain of Imladris, Glorfindel.

Erestor was sitting astride the captain's strong thighs, facing away from him while the balrog slayer's cock was buried almost balls deep in his ass. Glorfindel had one hand on Erestor's weeping cock and the dark haired ellon had thrown his head back and the face had an expression of intense pleasure. The golden haired one was just as ecstatic, Galion could almost imagine hearing him growl with delight while pounding that slender lithe scholar until he possibly saw every star in the heavens. It was the most graphic, explicit and well made drawing the butler had seen in his life and if this was Aravan's work then he ought to have pursued a career as an artist, not as a black mailer. It was rather obvious why Erestor had recommended Aravan as his replacement, the poor ellon didn't have a choice unless he wanted the whole of Arda to know he enjoyed letting Glorfindel fuck his ass. After all, everybody knew that Erestor had a reputation for being both pious and self righteous, and he shunned all sorts of pleasures.

Galion dreaded what he would find in the rest of the bag, it was letters. He tentatively opened one and it was a love letter Elrond had written to his wife while he was away, probably visiting Lindon by the looks of it. Galion didn't have to read more than a few sentences to know that he could read no more, he had never imagined that the normally so gentle healer had a fetish that involved bondage, riding crops and fur. Galion already knew what he needed to know, Aravan probably had something on everybody in Imladris and now he had his eyes set on Greenwood too. But Galion wasn't going to let that goddamn leech get anywhere with his plans, not if he could stop it.

He made sure that nobody could see that he had been there, then he ran back to the office, feeling as if he was in a terrible hurry. He grasped a tray of glasses he had prepared and knocked, managed to put on his usual servile expression while he entered the room. He bowed deeply and gave all the assembled nobles a glass of wine each. Thranduil stared at him and made a small discrete signal and Galion tried to look apologetic. "My liege, I am sorry to interrupt this important meeting but we have a minor crisis within the kitchen, we have run out of…potato flour"

Thranduil had a hard time keeping his face neutral, he felt an urge to do a face palm. Potato flour? Why did Galion chose that of all things? Oh, he could have chosen something way more important than that. He had to play along though. " Oh no, I will look into it immediately. Everybody, we continue tomorrow. This has to be dealt with."

There were more than just one raised eyebrow, the counsellors were staring at each other looking a bit baffled. Potato flour? What was so bad about running out of that? Thranduil just put on his most haughty expression and followed Galion who hurried out of the door as if he was chased by a dragon with a spear stuck up its arse. Galion ran towards the lower levels where the kitchens were but he stopped near a storage room and the king followed him, they closed the door and Galion turned around, a bit pale. " Thran, that ellon is the most audacious elf I have ever come across, he has been blackmailing everybody I think. Even Elrond himself!"

Thranduil frowned, his eyebrows almost met in the middle of his face. " Really? What could the lord of Imladris possibly be doing that is so bad it can be used to press him in any way?"

Galion blushed. " Uh, well, there were letters, to his wife. He….ah, sort of has a peculiar taste when it comes to the bedroom?"

Thranduil scoffed. " Oh Eru, well I understand, some of those Noldor are pretty pious, and boring too. To them anything exciting is probably seen as absolutely shameless and sinful and despicable. They would turn against him if they knew, or secretly come to him for advice."

Galion nodded. " And Erestor, Eru's mercy. Aravan is an artist Thran, he had drawn Erestor and Glorfindel and the picture was like seeing them for real, and they were….Oh you get it."

Thranduil had to snigger." I get it, Erestor often acts as if he has got something lodged up his rear end, maybe he just is a bit sore. So Aravan is digging to find something he can use against us too?"

Galion nodded vigorously. " Most certainly my liege."

Thranduil sighed and bit his lower lip. " Then we have to make sure that he is removed from our realm before he really manage to do any harm. But how?"

Galion shrugged. " I have no idea, if he start insisting on him being guarded all the time he will get suspicious. We have to really think about this."

Thranduil nodded and pulled at one of his braids in frustration. " Well, we'd better think fast then for I think that darn ellon soon will be the target of my full wrath. I cannot believe that anyone can be that block headed."

They left the room and Thranduil went to his library to see if he could find anything that could enable him to throw Aravan out of the realm legally. As a representative of another realm the goddamn fool was protected by the law, he was virtually immune should he do anything wrong. It was terribly annoying and the king felt how he really needed to do something for real. He had to vent his anger so he went to the training rooms and sparred against Feren for several hours. When they were done both were drenched in sweat and panting and everybody who had watched had understood that the king was really angry about something but also that he was no less dangerous than in his youth.

Galion felt frustrated too, he wanted to protect the people he cared about and he knew that Thranduil was tied up in a way, he couldn't do anything about Aravan's devious plans but he wanted to. He headed towards the huge halls that lay beneath the areas where people lived, there they had storage room and he felt as though he needed to do something to relieve his stress. Galion was a bit obsessed with making lists, he loved having accurate lists of everything they had of supplies and he headed to a room where they stored herbs and vegetables in jars, dried up or fresh. He grasped a piece of parchment and started cataloging every jar on every shelf, it sort of put his mind to ease since it was such a very simple and yet relaxing task.

He had finished two rows of jars when he suddenly heard something, it was a sort of mumbling and he stopped and put down his parchment and pen, staring at the walls. There were other rooms there, in a long row and ventilation shafts ran through the entire area. He frowned and got closer to the nearest vent, the mumbling sound came again and now he could distinguish moans. What the hell? Galion was the butler of the palace, in fact the only person with more influence over the household than him was the king and it was Galion's responsibility to make sure that everything was running smoothly. Was someone hiding in one of the storage rooms? That was unacceptable, any servant doing something he shouldn't whilst being nearby food or other stuff that could be ruined could be sacked immediately.

Galion left his list in on a shelf and exited the room, he headed towards the main corridor, sneaking along and using his ears for all that they were worth.

He heard a groaning sound and a whimper and realized that it came from a room used to store bedding. The door was a bit ajar and there was light streaming from the crack. He got closer, feeling a bit nervous. What was this? He peeked in through the opening between the door and the frame and he almost gasped, he pressed his hand against his mouth to stifle it. With wide eyes and shock all over his face he witnessed something he had a hard time believing. Aravan was in there but he wasn't alone, one of the very young servants was there too, and he was in obvious distress. The face told of shame, fear and agony and the poor youngster was panting and whimpering and not in a good way. It sounded a bit like a puppy someone has whipped. Galion felt his knees going weak, this was atrocious, a crime! The servant had just come of age, he was a bit late when it came to maturity and rather frail and demure. Aravan was standing behind the young elf who was bent forward over a stack of blankets, hands trembling and grasping onto the edge of a shelf with white knuckles. Aravan had a firm grip of the young elf's hips and his long braid, he was pounding the servant hard and brutally and Galion felt sick. The servant was moaning with pain and he heard the slapping sound of skin against skin, since the servant stood with his legs far apart Galion could see how blood was trickling down the shivering inner thighs.

Aravan was grunting with pleasure and triumph, his face contorted and looking far from fair at the moment. Galion was an experienced ellon, he had been around for just as long as the king and he had seen a lot. He knew that Aravan was the kind of ellon who got off by being the one in power, of having others crawl before him and forcing them to submit completely. Aravan increased his efforts, the speed was amazing and the force too and Galion closed his eyes, he couldn't watch any more. This was terrible! Aravan let out a hoarse roar and Galion could hear the servant heaving for breath, sobbing in pain. Galion wanted to rush into the room, wanted to kill Aravan there and then but he couldn't, he didn't have any weapons and if he did call for the guards to arrest the culprit Aravan would most likely get away with it since he was an envoy from Imladris.

Aravan put his pants back on, he was smirking, smacked the young elf's ass hard. " Now, that wasn't too bad now was it? At least you know what it feels like to get some real cock, you ought to be proud of having lost your virginity to someone so far above you."

Galion had a hard time breathing, he saw that the servant was barely able to stand and tears were streaming down his face. Aravan was leaning forth, almost caressing the young elf. " If you mention of this to anyone I will not hesitate to tell that boss of yours that you have stolen from the kitchen."

The servant just whimpered and Galion frowned, had the servant been stealing? Nothing was missing and he didn't understand at all. The servant whimpered. " Please, it was just a couple of oranges for my little sister…"

Aravan sneered. " Still it is theft now isn't it, you will lose your job."

Galion had heard enough, what a complete asshole, he was using the fact that the other elf was young and naïve and a few oranges? The servants could take and eat all they wanted from the fruit as long as there was enough left for the feasts. Galion slipped in behind a door and watched how Aravan walked by, looking very smug and pleased with himself. The normally gentle butler would have strangled the bastard if he could. But this was a job for the king, he was to find the punishment for such actions.

After a few minutes the servant emerged, limping and pale and his eyes were black and enormous within the young face. Galion slipped out from behind the door and the young elf squeaked and he almost fainted. " Oh Eru, you saw?!"

Galion grasped onto the trembling ellon and held him tight. " I did but worry not, you will not lose your job mellon, you are safe. I will make sure that Aravan never hurts another elf, I swear!"

The young ellon almost collapsed. " I didn't want to, I didn't want to, I swear. He forced me, it was horrible, oh Eru it hurt"

Galion held him gently, feeling how the anger within him made his seethe. " I know, ssshh, you are safe now. I will take you to the healers now, they will help you. That bastard has harmed you I fear."

The servant just sobbed and Galion knew that some elves do fade from such horrible actions, he hoped that this young one would survive without a broken soul. He hurried carrying the wounded ellon to the healing ward and he used some hidden corridors only he knew of. The servant was too distraught to even notice where he was, constantly wailing and sobbing and trembling. He rushed in through the doors and the head of the healers stared in disbelief at the butler who carried a youth in his arms. " Hurry, close the doors and let nobody enter. This will not leave this room but send someone to notify the king and ask him to get here soon. But let nobody know why."

The healer came over and Galion put the servant down onto a bed very carefully. " What in the name of the one has happened to him? An accident in the kitchen?"

Galion snorted. " No, he has been raped! By that sorry excuse for an elf out of Imladris, I bet he is torn up on the inside, as far as I could see the bastard didn't use any sort of lube."

The healer gasped and snapped into action, getting more healers over and they gave the servant something that made him fall asleep. Galion sat down on a chair, feeling truly shaken. What sort of a monster was really that ellon? No elf would hurt another like that? Was Aravan truly mad? Drunk with power perhaps? As the healers were working there was the sound of running feet and the king came rushing into the rooms, he looked confused and Galion jumped up onto his feet to greet him. " What is going on, you look as though you have seen a ghost?!"

Galion swallowed, he felt a bit faint still. " I have seen something so terrible I have a hard time believing it. Aravan has raped a young servant, the healers are working on him right now!"

The king went silent, then he went pale and suddenly his eyes were shooting lightning and he seemed to be aglow with rage. " WHAT?! Are you serious?"

Galion looked down. " I am sorry, yes, I am. I saw it with my own eyes."

Thranduil sneered. "Then by Morgoth's rotten teeth, he will pay, he will pay dearly for this!"

Galion nodded. "Yes my lord, do you want to take him to court?"

Thranduil almost growled. " No, he will find a way to talk himself out of it, I am bloody sure. And a trial means that the poor victim will have to testify and I do not want to put anyone so traumatized through something like that, it will just renew the memories. No, I will deal with this, the only way possible. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"

Galion watched his king's expression and couldn't help but shudder, this didn't look good at all for Aravan, no it did look as though the ellon soon would come face to face with a true force of nature, namely the elven king of Greenwood!


	2. May justice be served

Chapter two: May justice be served…

Candriel was staring at her king with wide eyes, when she met him that evening he had been pale with rage and she had realized that she never had seen him like this before. He had been angered on many an occasion but never like this. She felt a bit nervous, she had never seen him like this.

Thranduil had called for her as soon as he was done with his duties that day, he needed her to calm down, to find himself again. Telling her of the incident had been hard, he didn't really want to take those words into his mouth but he had to, she too needed to know the truth. "What are you going to do to him?"

Thranduil was pacing around the room like a wolf caught in a cage, she could see that he was tense like a bowstring and he was grinding his teeth. " I wish I could order his execution, his crime is punishable with death but he is above the law as an emissary from another realm. I cannot touch him that way."

Candriel tilted her head. "Then how?"

Thranduil sneered and stared at the flames in the hearth. " By making sure that he wants to leave, that he never will return to any elven realm, that he regrets the day he was born!"

Candriel swallowed hard. " You have a plan?"

He nodded, the fire in his eyes intense. " Indeed I do, a very good plan too. But I will need your help Candriel, and there is some risk too."

She stared straight at him, she was brave and she felt sorry for the poor servant. The healers had guaranteed that he would survive but he would be suffering from the terrible memories for ages and he would most likely chose to sail as soon as possible. No elf should have to endure something like that, and absolutely not at the hands of another elf. She had heard of warriors who were abused by orcs but that was in war, they were prepared for the dangers. This was a young ellon, hardly an adult and yet his innocence had been ripped away from him in the most cruel way imaginable. It was horrible.

"What must I do my lord?"

Thranduil smirked and told her and she let out a small gasp, the plan was audacious but it would work, the culprit would probably regret he ever wanted to go to their realm in the first place. She nodded eagerly. " I am ready my liege, it will be my pleasure"

Thranduil walked over to her and kissed her passionately. " I know, and now please help me forget what I have been through today. I will find no rest nor peace of mind right now, I am too tense. "

She sat down on the bed and smiled, she knew exactly what he needed and she grasped his robes and pulled him closer to her, he looked down at her with simmering heat in his eyes and she smirked and opened his pants. He did nothing to stop her or correct her, he just stood there as she got his cock out and started to caress it. It filled out immediately, and he closed his eyes in bliss. She had long since realized that he was the kind of person in whom the connection between body and soul is very strong. If his mind was tense and ill at ease so was his body and vice versa. She took him deep right away, knew exactly how to make him forget even his own name, she enjoyed this immensely for she loved to give him pleasure and see him for a short while become relaxed and free of sorrow and once more youthful and carefree.

Before long he was heaving for air and making keening sounds, struggling to control himself so he didn't hurt her by thrusting into her. Candriel was making some humming sounds while using her tongue with wicked technique and he tensed up and rolled out the white of his eyes as he howled and came surprisingly hard. He had been angry, that sometimes worked almost as an aphrodisiac to him, he was never more vigorous than when he had been seething with rage for a while. Candriel did lick him clean, slowly and meticulously and he shivered and moaned, eyes closed and beads of sweat on his brow. " Candriel, you are a savior of souls, I am sure!"

She just purred and finished with a wicked lick along his softening shaft and over his balls. It earned her a whimper and he shuddered a little. " You little minx, you know how sensitive I am right now!"

She just chuckled and pulled herself further into the bed, she pulled her skirt up slowly and deliberately and spread her legs with a naughty grin upon her face. He tilted his head and stared at her exposed cunt with a lifted eyebrow and a devilish expression in his eyes. " So, the lady wants the favor returned?"

She leaned back and winked at him. " Indeed I do my lord, you have such a talented tongue."

He climbed onto the bed and she was glad to see that he had forgotten about the whole calamity, if only for now. " I have heard that yes, nobody should doubt my oratory skills"

She giggled and then she shrieked as he grasped her by the hips and went to work with zeal. He was really very good at this and before long she was writhing and gasping and she came suddenly and with great force, it made her scream his name over and over again and he enjoyed the scent and taste of her as she calmed down. Then he pulled his pants down and got her onto her stomach, plunged into her from behind and it didn't last long before both had forgotten everything but their lust and pleasure.

The next morning Thranduil appeared rather late for the first meeting of the day, he looked a bit like a cat which have spotted a huge and lame mouse trapped in a corner and the three elves he was meeting felt a bit nervous. They were representatives from one of the silvan tribes and they were there to discuss some changes in the routines regarding the patrols, the area they came from had been almost flooded with spiders lately and they needed more help to stop the monstrosities spreading further. The king sat down and he smiled at them, the smile was dangerous and his eyes sharp as the edge of his blade. " My lords, there is something I wish to discuss with you. If you hear me out I will let you have all the warriors you need to get rid of the spiders, now and in the future."

The three stared at the king with huge eyes, what was this? "We are listening Aran nin?"

Thranduil grinned, a dark fire sparked within his blue eyes. " Excellent, now, this is serious and listen well, I will only say this once"

Half an hour later the three left the room in a hurry and rode hard back to their village, they had things to prepare and they were truly eager and also very angry. The servant was a silvan like them and they knew that the king's plan was a good one. There is something called poetic justice and they wanted to see it served.

Thranduil then went to another council meeting, feeling as though he was going to retch watching Aravan's smug face and he managed to stay calm only because of his long practice. He tried to ignore the completely outlandish suggestions the ellon made and he saw that the other council members soon had reached the end of their patience. Several threw him some glances that couldn't be misinterpreted and he tried to reassure them with small nods and winks. Aravan didn't notice any of it, he kept rambling about possible solutions that even a retarded orc could have done better and Thranduil had started to believe that the elf was both stupid and corrupted.

When the meeting finally came to a halt all were exhausted and they hadn't gotten any further at all, several days had gone to waste by now and even though time is something elves have in abundance the situation was getting tenser by the day. There had to be a way to fight off the enemy from several fronts if it came to it, but Aravan seemed to make suggestions that would enable their old foe to do pretty much whatever he wished for. Maybe he in secret was a servant of the dark lord? That wouldn't surprise Thranduil at all.

He was heading back towards his study when one of the council members approached him, it was one of the elves that had served his father before him and he was old and wise and had been among the ones born at the Cuivienen. Thranduil had the greatest respect for him and Morenil had often proved to be a most valuable member of their society. Thranduil stopped and stared at the elf who swallowed and bowed his head, obviously distraught. " My liege, there is something I need to tell you."

Thranduil swore to himself. " Oh let me guess, Aravan has approached you with some sort of terrible suggestion, claiming to know something he can use against you right?"

Morenil went pale and then he nodded slowly. " Aye, he has. He came to me last night, rather late. He had…He had proof that I had cheated on my wife, or that was at least what he was claiming."

Thranduil sighed. " Morenil, I know you, heck we all know you. You would never do that, not anything in the world would make you betray Orolinde thus."

Morenil nodded. " Yes, and I never have but once I travelled to the havens and I escorted a young elleth out of Imladris, of course nothing happened between us that wasn't completely decent and proper, I saw her almost as a daughter, but he claims to have written confessions from witnesses who claim to have….seen us…engaging in acts normally only wedded couples ought to do."

Thranduil's eyes got narrow. This changed things a lot, Aravan had planned this ahead hadn't he? He knew who the members of Thranduil's council were before he even entered the realm, and he probably had something on everyone. This was grave, he had to make sure that Aravan didn't manage to get a grip on anyone. " What did he want?"

Morenil wetted his lips, he looked shocked and nervous. " He wanted to become head of the council, to replace Nerelan and maybe Orovan too. He wanted me to make sure that they stepped back."

Thranduil felt his hands tremble with rage, the audacity of that ellon! Nerelan was young and maybe not the most experienced of lords but he was able to see things from a fresh new perspective and Thranduil admired that. Orovan was his least favorited counsellor but he respected the grumpy old ellon and knew that he was a master at strategic thinking. Losing him would be a disaster! Morenil swallowed and stared down at the floors. " My lord, what do you suggest we do? This cannot continue!"

Thranduil nodded. " You are so right, it must be stopped and I do already have a plan ready. Would you and the other members of council perhaps consider helping me out?"

Morenil nodded eagerly- " Yes, oh yes my king, we will do whatever you wish for, that menace has to be removed."

Thranduil almost growled. " And removed he will be, now, this is the plan!"

Later that evening there was an announcement coming from the king, there would be a masquerade to celebrate the old custom of the wild hunt. It was an avarin custom stretching back to the first elves and it was still very important to the silvan and nandor elves and also for the avarin tribes. There were still some avari elves living in the area and they were regarded as rather feral still and they refused to live in the palace. Thranduil had already sent an envoy to them and had gotten an answer back, they were very eager to participate.

The masquerade was just for the sindar and more high standing silvan elves, the ordinary population would join the avari in the woods and there were plenty of preparations going on. Some were carefully hidden and nobody except a few knew of them. Thranduil tried to hide his strange mood, he wanted Aravan to think that he had won , that he had struck gold indeed. He wanted the bastard completely crushed, all power taken from him and his outrageous self-confidence with it. Yes, he would love to watch the elf squirm, but he wouldn't stoop so low as to kill him. The days of kinslaying were long gone and Thranduil would make sure that Aravan left these shores for good. Maybe the valar would be able to rehabilitate him but he had his doubts.

The masquerade was to be held the day after, when the sun set, and the palace was buzzing with activity. Thranduil made Galion spread some rumors with the help of his servants, all aimed at Aravan, then he sent for one of his most trusted guards. Halaron was a sinda like Thranduil and he was so alike the king in build that some had suggested that perhaps Oropher had been sowing some wild oats. He was just an inch shorter, a wee bit more lithe and he had the same silvery blond hair as the king. The face was rather different though, he had a square face compared with the kings long oval one and he had deep green eyes and a crooked nose. But during a masquerade that would not be visible and Halaron was being carefully prepared for his job.

Thranduil didn't like to share Candriel with others, but this time he had to, Aravan had to believe that he really was seeing the king and his mistress in action and Halaron was prepared to play the role to perfection. With the same robes on and a mask the two of them would be hard to separate, at least in the dark. Thranduil was feeling how his heart was beating faster, and he was shivering with excitement. This was more thrilling than any hunt, he was so eager to see whether or not Aravan would swallow the bait.

The next day there were no meetings, the feast was being prepared just outside of the palace and Galion could report that yes, Aravan now probably knew of every rumor Galion had spread. The elf would be very ready for the evening to come. Thranduil got ready as the sun started to head towards the horizon, he knew that everybody else too were ready and he sent the mirror a very strange grin as he left his private chambers. It was a sneer, a grimace that reminded him of a dragons growl. Aravan would know what pain and fear was at the end of this night, yes, he would be taught a lesson he never would forget!

He had made sure he wore the same clothes as Halaron and the guard was hiding, waiting for the right moment. It had to be perfectly timed. Thranduil had ordered that his goblet was to be filled with just cranberry juice that looked like wine and everybody was to act as normal, as if this was an annual event and a normal feast. But everybody gathered knew that this was a ruse, a trap. They needed Aravan to believe that he could catch the king himself doing something stupid.

Galion was prepared too and he was filled with glee, yes, he was so eager he was shivering as he went through his part of this in his mind. Everybody had come to know that Aravan was a very culturally stupid person, he saw everybody not a noldo as something lowly and frankly speaking not worthy of interest. He had no idea of what the silvan and avarin cultures were about, and he would easily be fooled into believing just about anything. Oh this was going to be wonderful.

The feast started, and everybody carried masks but the king was easy to spot, he was the tallest person around, his robes were the most expensive ones and he carried himself with the grace and elegance of a true monarch. Aravan was watching the king like a hawk watches a limp rabbit, his eyes did barely leave his target even once and Galion chuckled to himself, this was going the right way. He made sure that he delivered a lot of goblets to Thranduil who tossed them back with remarkable zeal, if it had been wine even he would become drunk by all this. Aravan was wearing a rather dull mask with no embellishments at all and his robes were nice but not very elaborate. He couldn't afford anything luxurious but that would change.

Galion sort of sauntered off towards Aravan and gave him a goblet, it was carefully prepared with herbs that left no taste but quite an effect. Aravan just took the goblet without even thanking the butler, he was already certain that he would become the true ruler of this realm before long and he didn't want to bother with the servants. They were way below him anyhow and would have to learn how to obey him soon. Galion leaned against the wall and grinned. "I wonder if the avari will have any luck this night"

Aravan didn't look at Galion at all but he sort of scoffed. " How so?"

Galion shrugged. " It is the night of the hunt you know, it is an ancient tradition, sacred to the wood elves. It is of course a bit barbaric and terribly…shall I say…out of fashion? But it is important to them, it sort of brings them closer to the gods."

Aravan just scoffed. " Uncivilized superstition"

Galion nodded eagerly. " Of course, but you know, they are primitive and blood sports are a part of their culture. "

Aravan frowned. "Blood sports?!"

Galion smiled. " Oh yes, you see, they try to remember the past by reenacting the dark days of the awakening. They were being hunted by the dark hunter you know, and they do this to remember the horrors of those days."

Aravan knew of this, every elf in middle earth did. He made a grimace. " So, what is it that they do?"

Galion shrugged again, tried to look indifferent. " Oh, I am not completely sure for I have no idea of what they really do, only they are allowed to participate in their rituals but I do know that they chose one person who is the target and has to personify the elves being hunted by the creatures of Morgoth."

Aravan swallowed. " Really? But…"

Galion continued with a carefree grin on his face. " The whole tribe will chase that person through the woods, as if he was a deer and they hunters. He has to make it to a certain place within the woods before they catch him or else the whole tribe, well the ellyn at least, is allowed to have their way with him."

Aravan squeaked." All of them?!"

Galion nodded with a serious expression on his face. " Oh yes, they have to. If they don't fuck him thoroughly they will experience a bad year with death and misery. If the target manages to get to the sacred spot only the great hunter is allowed to touch him. The great hunter is a personification of Oromë, and nobody knows who he is for he is always covered with a mask. If anyone sees his face that person is banished forever, it will bring misfortune to the tribe. "

Aravan looked shocked. " But the target, what happens to him?"

Galion smiled. " Oh, if he escapes the hunters and the great hunter claims him he is regarded as a sacred person for a year. He is marked and prepared and for the year to come he is to live within a sacred tree and is fed with herbs that gives him visions, he is treated as a sort of oracle for that year. Afterwards he is to live as a hermit for a decade before he can return to society."

Aravan swallowed. " You said marked?"

Galion nodded and made a grimace. " Oh yes, he is tattooed, everywhere virtually. And pierced too, it is an avarin custom, a rite of passage. He cannot let anyone hear him make any sound at all as they prepare him. "

Aravan frowned. " Piercings? His ears?"

Galion waved a hand gleefully. " Oh yes, his ears, his nose, tongue, lip, I think both nipples, his navel, cock, balls, I have even heard of an unfortunate fellow who ended up with piercings in his eyebrows and the crease behind his knees."

Aravan was pale, so the target had the choice between being fucked in the ass by the whole tribe or having to be pierced until he looked like a freaking hedgehog? What a terrible custom!

Galion smiled " Being the target is seen as a great honor, nobody knows who the chosen one is before the hunt starts, they leave a deer's hide in the woods and the target sort of goes to it and puts it on and then the hunt is started."

Aravan shook himself. " Enough of that, I bet the barbarians are far away and of no concern to us!"

Galion tilted his head. " Oh they could be anywhere, the whole forest is their domain after all"

He bowed his head and left with a polite grin. Aravan stood there a bit shocked, he had always known that the avari and Silvan elves were primitive and barbaric but not to that extent. This was horrible, and most of the population participated in that awful custom? He shuddered and continued to watch the king, sooner or later he would leave and then Aravan would be on his tail like a pack of wolves after a limp deer.

Thranduil was aware of Aravan, he felt the ellon's eyes on him the entire time, and he smirked underneath the thick velvet mask. He pretended to be drunk, he was in fact a good actor if he needed to be and he made a very convincing performance. Candriel was ready too, when the time was right she came sauntering by and he grasped onto her and pretended to be groping her in a very impolite manner. Then he let her tow him off by his braid, he could sense that Aravan was right behind him and they hurried through the garden, Halaron was waiting behind a column and the two ellyn switched place within the blink of an eye. To the untrained eye it would be very hard to see that it wasn't the king being lead by the masked elleth.

Aravan was following the two and he didn't really notice where he was going. The couple stumbled through the woods and ended up in a small clearing and there they sort of collapsed into a heap of limbs and clothing. Candriel was enjoying this, she didn't mind having other lovers than the king when it was alright with him, and Halaron was good. He wasn't as large as the king and he was a bit less experienced too but he was capable of making the scene convincing enough. Neither took of their masks but to Aravan it had to look as if the king himself was busy fucking his mistress in the woods.

Aravan had taken cover behind a bush and he was staring with wide eyes. He didn't bring his paper and pens, it was too dark for that, but he had an excellent memory and the things he saw was almost burned onto his mind. He was breathing hard by now, not only did the concept of being able to black mail a king turn him on, but the act itself had its effect on him. The elleth was gasping and moaning and the king was rather vocal too. And vigorous too, not the least. Aravan was shocked that someone that drunk could be capable of being that enduring, the king was quite a stud it seemed but Aravan would soon enjoy the same privileges for sure.

He had to put his hand down his pants rather fast, biting his other hand to avoid making any sounds, the elleth was gorgeous and watching the two fuck like that really awakened Aravan's libido. He didn't need much time before he came, hard and long and he saw sparks and stars for a while, the idea of him being the one with the real power there made his orgasm even stronger and he wiped off his hand on the grass and got his pants back to normal, feeling a bit weird. He was slightly dizzy and things were a bit blurred too, had he been drinking too much? He didn't know it but the herbs he had ingested with the herbs Galion had given him had started to kick in. The sounds seemed strange and twisted and he blinked and rubbed his eyes. What was this?

He heard voices and panic struck him, he couldn't be seen there, if the king saw him he wouldn't be able to go through with his plan. He saw lights shine among the trees, somebody was probably coming, looking for the king and he got up and ran in the opposite direction. He ran until he didn't see the lights anymore, his heart was thundering in his chest and he was panting. Now, where was he? He felt so odd, everything was floating and he didn't really see that well, and there were such peculiar noises around him everywhere. He felt as if he wasn't really himself, he was so light and yet he felt heavy and he was completely disoriented. Heck, what was going on?

He entered a small clearing and he saw the stars up ahead and walked to the middle of the clearing, great, he could use the stars to find his way back to the palace, now, which way was north? He was confused, what stars were showing true north? Those? No, that had to be…He didn't remember the constellations anymore! He sat down on a rock and rested his head, oh shit, it was really getting cold, he felt like an icicle. He felt something soft underneath him, oh wonderful, somebody had forgotten a huge fur there. He grasped it and pulled it over his shoulders, it was warm and comfortable and he snuggled against the soft silkiness. These barbarians knew how to make good furs that was for sure. He relaxed and grinned, it would be morning eventually and then he would find his way for sure and then he would make some really explicit drawings of what he had seen, the king couldn't deny him anything from now on.

He heard a horn in the distance, a hunters horn. He lifted his head, a hunters horn? Now? Oh, the hunt, he had forgotten, darn uncivilized moriquendi. Then it struck him, the pelt?!

He stared at it, it was a deer's hide and he got up onto his feet, oh no, it couldn't be? He heard voices, shouting, some sort of chanting, and it got closer all the time. Eru no! It couldn't be true! It wasn't real! He tried to throw the fur off him but it seemed to be stuck onto him and he let out a thin wailing sound and ran. He heard the hunters shout and yell and that blaring horn once again and he knew they were chasing him, probably completely wild with a thirst for blood and the thrill of the hunt. There would be no mercy if he got caught, oh sweet mercy, this was beyond terrible. He really felt like a deer there and then, with the hounds at its heels. He ran as if he was blind and the herbs did not exactly help him for they made his senses dull and made him hallucinate. He thought he saw monsters in every shadow, he was almost pissing himself with fear and he was unable to make any real decisions, he just ran on instinct.

The silvan elves Thranduil had been talking to had gathered the whole tribe, and the avari elves were there too, the population of the palace did also participate and they had had great fun preparing themselves. Everybody had stripped and painted themselves with odd and bizarre patterns, they had attached all sorts of crazy and terrible things to their hair and they looked like a bunch of true barbarians. They wore amulets and weapons of pre historical making and all screamed and yelled and did their best to sound terrifying. Normally the hunt was a very decent and proper ceremony where some chosen ones chased an imaginary stag through the woods while singing hymns and blessings, this year they really returned to the roots and they all knew why.

Aravan caught a glimpse of three warriors, stark naked but covered with paint and grotesque ornaments and he screamed and ran even faster, their eyes were murderous and he knew what his fate would be if they caught him. He was sweating and gasping for air and everywhere there were hands trying to grasp him, trying to catch him. He ran like a deer, eyes wide with fear and he managed to avoid capture but that was because they didn't really try to catch him, they just pretended but that was more than enough. Aravan was a wreck, shivering with fear and he was barely able to stand as he staggered into a clearing where a huge tree stood at the end. He stopped, he was surrounded and he whimpered and fell to his knees, he was doomed.

The elves got closer, hard eyes were staring at him and he felt hands grasp onto him, hoisting him up and he screamed, thrashing in utter panic, his clothes and the fur was ripped off him and he was close to passing out. He sobbed and tried to free himself but there was no chance, he was helpless now. He pleaded for mercy but nobody heard him, hands were groping and fondling and he was dragged over to a log and tied down over it, his ass in the air.

Aravan wished to die, there and then. The halls were salvation and he shivered with fear. The crowd spread and a huge elf wearing a mask formed as a stags head came forth. He wore only a loincloth and strange patterns were either drawn or tattooed onto his skin, this was the great hunter for sure and Aravan remembered what the butler had said. He screamed and continued screaming as the huge elf unceremoniously grasped him by his hips and thrust into him with one hard and rather brutal move. Aravan shrieked, his eyes were bulging and he was unable to breathe, it felt as though he was split in half, it burned, it hurt like nothing else ever had and the hunter started thrusting into him with both force and vigor.

Aravan continued to scream until his throat felt raw, he fought against the ropes and it only increased his agony. He did plead for mercy but the hunter didn't stop even for a second, Oh Eru how could anyone keep going like that?!A huge hand grasped onto his hair, forced his head up and he heard a deep voice close to his ear. " Now, remember that young servant you raped? Imagine how he felt? Well, now you know!"

Aravan opened his mouth in a soundless wail, the hunter grunted and pushed far into him and Aravan was sure he was going to die, he couldn't possibly survive such agony? In truth Aravan was a bit of a sissy and unaccustomed to pain and discomfort. The hunter shuddered and Aravan felt how hot fluid filled his insides, he sobbed. He was ruined, spoiled, defiled! He was broken! The hunter growled. "You have quite a nice ass Aravan, tight and good. Maybe I will keep you here, as my little toy!"

There was something familiar about the voice and Aravan's eyes went wide with horror, he turned his head and the hunter lifted the mask for a second. It was the king! Aravan just gasped, how? He had been in the woods with that elleth, how could he…

Thranduil just grasped Aravan by the chin. " Oh I see how your little brain is trying to understand this, but don't bother. The forest is a world you may never understand, and its powers are immense. I share in on them you know, I know everything about you Aravan!"

The ellon just stared, in utter disbelief. Thranduil pulled out and smacked Aravan's ass hard. "So, no blackmailing here little bitch, but my offer is standing, stay here as my toy or leave now. Or perhaps you will accept being the deer and stay for a year as our oracle?"

Aravan gaped, everything was spinning and he was nauseous and everything ached. The king leaned forth with a wicked glimpse in his eyes. " The warriors are sometimes allowed to share the deer with the great hunter, I feel very generous tonight. Yes, I think I will let them have a go at it too, your ass won't like it even a bit but neither did that poor youth you took in that storage room"

Aravan found his tongue, he screamed again, a hoarse cry in utter fear. " Oh have mercy, no, please, don't let them do it, Eru! I am dying, please no, no no no!"

The king almost caressed Aravan's trembling chin. " No? was I enough for you? How disappointing. But I trust you will make a very good plaything, maybe I'll even let the council members have a taste of you every now and then."

Aravan keened. " No, oh no, I will leave, I swear, I will never come here again, please for Eru's sake let me leave!"

Thranduil smirked, Aravan was trembling, covered with sweat and in shock. It had worked the way it should. " Very well then, I am disappointed to say the least, I imagined you chained to the throne, wearing only a dog collar as all bitches, and laying at my feet like a good hound. But very well, I will send you to the havens and I recommend you do sail or else I may change my mind and send for you."

Aravan just sobbed and the king nodded. Some ellyn came forth and untied the elf and there was a lot of booing and hissing coming from the crowd. Everybody knew what Aravan had done and the fear and anguish he had created. Aravan didn't understand how the king could be two places at once, maybe the stories about the magical abilities of the wood elves were true? One thing was for sure, he would never dare to cross the king of the woodland elves again. A group of armored warriors rode forth on good horses and Aravan was roughly hoisted onto one of them, he shrieked in pain and nobody did look upon him with sympathy. In their eyes their king had chosen a very fitting punishment, an eye for an eye and this time also an ass for an ass. The bastard would be sore for days.

Thranduil smiled, his eyes were hard. "The drawings and letters and everything will be returned to the people they rightfully belong to, and their secrets will be safe once more."

Aravan was stunned, how could he know…He had to be like a darn maia or something…No wonder why he could do such amazing things. Thranduil stared at the warriors. " Ride straight to the havens and put him onto the next ship, guard it until it sails and make sure he is on it. Then return here, but make sure he doesn't get the chance to escape. Give the letter I have written to Cirdan, it explains everything."

Aravan squeaked weakly. " My lord…I…I cannot ride!"

Thranduil sent the scholar a most wicked grin and smacked the horse across the arse and it bolted off, making Aravan scream. " Oh surely you can!"

The elves watched how Aravan and the warriors disappeared into the woods and the king snickered. Aravan did indeed regret the day he was born. He thanked everybody for their help and the crowd did disperse, now the real feast could begin, with sindar and silvan all mingling and everybody was glad such a threat against their realm was removed. Thranduil enjoyed himself greatly, drinking and dancing and later on that night he and Candriel had some real fun. He hadn't really enjoyed punishing Aravan the way he had, but it was needed and at least Aravan knew what it felt like to be abused.

The next day he wrote letters to may elves and sent the drawings, letters and descriptions with them, he knew that many would be very grateful. A month later he received a barrel of the best miruvor from Elrond and words of endless gratitude. Erestor sent him some amazing daggers and several meters of the best silk and the relationship between the realms got a lot better from now on.

As Thranduil lay there resting in the arms of Candriel he had to admit that Aravan in spite of it all had been useful for at least one thing, he had helped solve a diplomatic pain in the ass, the next counsellor Elrond would send had to be a more reasonable one for sure and when the warriors returned and told how Aravan had gotten seasick the moment he set foot upon the ship everybody was seen smirking, the king most of everyone.


End file.
